Rainforest diorama

In 3rd grade our daughter's big project is a diorama.  Her class had the rainforest and Elyse had a sloth.  I was initially lost but used the interent to get the juices rolling.  Here is what we came up with.  I was pretty impressed if I must say so myself.  We used an oversized shoe box from a pair of ankle boots.

First the sky was painted.  We did a darker shade of blue for the bottom of the horizon and green for grass.  We left a blank spot to later paint blue for water.

 

Then it was time for the trees.  She shaped trees using aluminum foil and masking tape.  It was difficult get them to stand.

Now it was time to paper mache the trees.  We used 2 parts water and 1 part flour.  What a mess.  It wasn't easy because the surface of the trees weren't smooth.  This is the only part she really got frustrated with and asked for Moms help.  My hands were like prunes by the time this step was completed.

It took 2 days for the trees to dry.  Thank goodness with had enough time.  Now it's time to paint the trees.

Elyse went all out making animals for the rainforest.  She not only made a sloth but a monkey with a baby, a macca, an aligator and a tree snake.  She used crayola modeling clay.  It air dries and is very light weight after.  I couldn't have made those animals if my life depended on it.

Elyse used blue cellophane for the water and green tissue paper for the leaves.  She also use twine for a vine for the monkey to swing on.  I had an old wreath that she cut pieces off of to add some plastic greenery.  We also had small river rocks from an old Girl Scout craft that she glued around the water. We used Quick Grip glue not a hot glue gun to glue everything in place.  I'm in love with Quick Grip glue.  It's not easy to use but it works like a charm.

One of the requirements was to use items around the house and not purchase anything.  Well, I failed on one account.  I did purchase the blue cellophane for the water but we had everything else on hand.

Here's the final product.